Ongoing Projects

Teaching using ESL strategies.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Instruction/ESL/LEPmathResource.pdf

Environmental Education

This knowledge, skills and attitudes approach(“head, hands and heart”) has been used in manyprograms worldwide. Britt Gow
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
http://www.buckscounty.org/government/departments/CommunityServices/PlanningCommission/2005GuideToRecycling.pdf
http://www.paperretriever.com

Differentiation

From tech4D.I. wiki
I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort where we overlap. ~Ani Difranco
Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family. ~Virginia Satir
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. ~Audre Lorde
Humanity's survival does not depend on reducing differences to a common identity, but on learning to live creatively with differences.

Digital Lab Reports

Equipment: Digital cameras and tripods, laptop computers, Pasco sensors, Data Studio, HyperStudio or PowerPoint.

Goal: Students use experimental design diagrams to plan experiments, provide detailed procedures, and present their results using tables, graphs, and written summaries. Conclusions explain the relevant science concepts and their application in the lab results.

Things I've tried:
Putting videos on Power Point - Won't play unless the video file is available. Otherwise it works well.
Voice Thread - The videos can be uploaded to voice thread and then narrated but students can't access voice thread.
Hyperstudio - Works well but we may not have access to hyperstudio next year. Encourages creativity and organization skills.

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Lesson Plan Make-Over - Web 2.0 Style!

Today my students recreated my lesson plan while the lesson was underway. The lesson topic was center of gravity.

In my first period class, I showed them a video that was taken during 4th period the previous daythat was narrated on Voice Thread. The video showed students stacking blocks of various shapes until the stack tipped over. We discussed the concept of center of gravity and using the video we found the point at which the center of gravity was no longer supported by the lower blocks. Period 4 helped me teach period 1 through their video.

Period 1 then researched the topic on the Internet and wrote about their findings on their wikispaces. When we reviewed their findings, some highlights were a computer simulation and a wonderful digram showing the center of gravity of several shapes. They put these links on our wiki and we used them in 2nd period and 4th period class later in the day.

During 2nd period class we also did a quick search on center of gravity and came up with another great link. A student searched United Streaming and found a video segment about the center of gravity of various athletes. We used this video in 4th period class and it will be shared with 1st period class tomorrow.

In 4th period, the students finished measuring the center of gravity of the various block shapes and took a picture of their results. All the information that day was posted on the class wikispace to document our learning and share with others.

Questions:

• Could the work to find these resouces be done ahead of time? You should absolutely conduct the research and find some resources before letting the students search. They don't need to know that you already have the links listed on your web page. If, for some reason, no one comes up with any good sites, you can fall back on those you found. Once you witness the sense of pride that students feel when they are contributing to the lesson you will realize the power of student input to keep them involved and interested.
• How then does a teacher make sure the lesson objectives are being met? It is important to keep the objectives in mind throughout the lesson. Any decision to follow the students' lead or to deviate from the original plan is based upon whether the new direction leads towards those objectives.

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Motivation in the Classroom

Thoughts from various articles and books on education.

• Give the students the opportunity to walk away from childhood. Trust them with responsibility so that they become self-reliant, ambitious, resourceful. Help students develop a sense of adventure. (John Taylor Gatto)
• Give students a dose of excellence where they are allowed to think critically and unfettered, and they will begin to crave after knowledge. (Thomas Maridada)
• Barriers such as cultural difference or language often seem to obscure meaning and leave us more questions than answers about the efficacy of our work, yet in small moments, we see understanding. This suggests that the ideas might travel to places we couldn't imagine and have an impact we could not predict. (Kathy Schultz)
• To be successful in the classroom we need to go out and really "shake the trees," but weirdly, the fruit that falls almost never comes from the tree we are shaking. (Julia Cameron)
• Rather than giving away ideas, work to build structures that will support students in their learning. Then witness their joy as they discover their own new ideas. (Kathy Schultz)
• Perpetually respond creatively to what is happening now. (Martha Beck)
• The currency of youth is time. (James Gill)
• Leave room in the lesson for the students to teach you back. Give them a voice of feedback, asking their opinions, valuing their input on the lesson. Use their questions as a starting point for mini enrichment activities. Don't ignore the developments that the students view as important. Give students a choice of methods for providing evidence of their learning. Teach students how to vocalize what it is that they have learned. Every insight that a student achieves is like a treasure and they should be encouraged to seek more insight.(Taste of excellence.)